Loading machine



Jan. 10, 1939.

w. w. sLoANl-:- LOADING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed oct, 5o, 195e Jan. l0, 1939. w wlsLOANE 2,143,092

LOADING MACHINE Patented` Jan. l0, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT FFiCE LOADING MACHINE Application October 30, 1936, Serial No. 108,360

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in loading machines of the type adapted to gather and load coal at the working face of a mine and more particularly to the gathering head for 5 initially picking up the loose material and loading it onto a ight conveyer for discharge in a mine car or the like.

More specifically the present invention is an improvement in the general form of gathering heads disclosed in a prior application, Serial No. 580,755, filed by Frank Cartlidge on December 14, 1931, which issued as Patent No. 2,073,142, March 9, 1937, and in a prior Patent No. 2,045,008, which issued June 23, 193B to Frank Cartlidge.

i; Heretofore, in gathering heads of the endless chain type, the gathering arms have been cleared from material on the elevating conveyer of the machine by spacing the gathering arms above the conveyer a substantial distance at their turning point away from the conveyer or by lifting the gathering arms out of the material on the conveyer in various manners, together with driving the conveyer at a higher speed than the gathering arms.

It is` desirable that the gathering head be as compact as possible in order that it may be more readily manipulated during thefgathering operation, Yand that the angle of the gathering head with respect to the ground be such that it may readily be advanced into the coal and still serve as a snubbing element tov cut through or break down tight or standing coal. It has been found that this can be accomplished yby reducing the clearance between the gathering arms and elevating conveyer to bare mechanical clearance. It has also been found that where the speed of the conveyer is considerably greater than that of the gathering arms so the conveyer will carry material away from the gathering arms at a greater speed than it is deposited thereon, and that wherethe gathering arms diverge from the sides of the conveyer as they more upwardly therealong, that the clearance between the gathering arms and conveyer may be reduced to effect a more compact gathering head than formerly.

The principal objects of my present invention are to provide a simpler, more compact and eilicient construction of gathering head especially adapted for loading coal in a more efficient manner than formerly, and wherein the clearance between the gathering arms and conveyer has been reduced to the minimum requisite for mechanical clearance together with a simple vand efficient means for providing clearance for the' gathering head and arms as they are being advanced into the material which is being loaded.

This invention may best be understood with reference to the accompanying drawings where- Figure 1 is a plan view of a loading head with the rear portion of the elevating conveyer broken away;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a detail fragmentary transverse sectional View showing certain details of the drive to the gathering mechanism.

Referring now in particular to the details shown in the drawings, the gathering and loading element is mounted at the forward end of an inclined elevating conveyer frame I0 which as usual is carried by and projects from the forward end of a mobile truck having suitable power operating and control devices which need not be shown or described in detail herein as the present invention is directed particularly to the construction of the gathering and loading element itself.

The inclined conveyer frame l0 has a trough like conveyer section I l and a forward gathering section I2 connected thereto in a suitable manner. The angle of said forward gathering section with respect to the ground is greater than n,

that of said conveyer section in order to position the gathering mechanismin the proper relationship with respect to the coal face, to enable said mechanism to snub or break down tight coal.

An apron i3 extends laterally from opposite sides of the conveyer and downwardly therealong forwardly of the conveyer to the ground in a plane which is herein shown as being closely adjacent and parallel to the plane of the conveyer. It should herein be noted that the spacing of said apron closely adjacent to said conveyer renders the form of the gathering head more compact than has formerly been possible.

A plate I6 forms the bottom of the conveyer section il. Said plate extends forwardly therefrom and beneath the apron I3 in an inclined plane which is substantially parallel to the plane of said apron.

The moving parts of the conveyer consist of a pair of parallel spaced chains Il, I1 having material engaging flights I8, I8 carried therebetween at suitable intervals. The lower run of said conveyer chains extends downwardly beneath the plate I6 under adjustable tension rollers I9, I9, over idler rollers 20, 20, and under drive sprockets 2|, 2|, secured to a transversely extending shaft 22. From the drive sprockets 2|, 2| said chain extends forwardly and around direction changing rollers 23, 23 on a transverse shaft 24 disposed immediately forwardly of the front edge of the conveyer bottom plate I6. After the direction of the conveyer chains I1, I1 has been reversed by the rollers 23, said chains move upwardly over the bottom plate I6 on guide strips 25, 25 disposed along opposite sides of said bottom plate, as is best shown in Figure 3.

The conveyer section II also has a pair of upright side plates 26, 26 which define the main body of the trough section of said conveyer section and also extend downwardly beneath the plate I6 to provide suitable bearing supports for the transverse shafts 22 and 24. Said side plates are flared outwardly as indicated at 26a.

The gathering mechanism includes a pair of endless chains 21, 21 mounted on chain guiding members 28, 28 mounted directly on the upper surface of the apron I3. Said chain guiding members and gathering chains are arranged to diverge laterally away from the conveyer as they extend upwardly therealong in order to aid in clearing the gathering mechanism from material on the conveyer.

Each endless chain 21 has a pair of parallel spaced projections 28d, 28a, extending therefrom at suitable intervals therealong to which are mounted laterally projecting gathering arms 29, 29 for pivotal movement in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said chain.

Each of said gathering arms has an upwardly and rearwardly inclined forward gathering face 3D and has a bit 3| projecting outwardly from the end thereof. Said gathering arm also has an integrally formed lug 32 projecting angular-ly outwardly and upwardly from an intermediate portion thereof. Said lug is adapted to have a bit 33 mounted therein. Suitable forwardly and rearwardly projecting legs 34 and 35 respectively are provided on the portion of said gathering arms adjacent the chain 21 for engagement with said chain 21. Said legs are adapted to limit pivotal movement of said arms in either direction beyond a certain predetermined point. Thus material on the conveyer which is moving at a higher rate of speed than the speed of the gathering arms (since the speed of the conveyer is considerably greater than that of the gathering arms), may pivot said arms in the direction of travel of material along the conveyer to permit material to pass thereby.

'I'he gathering head and arms are cleared from tight or overhanging coal or material which may fall on and bury the apron I3 by means of snubbing blocks 36, 36 which project angularly outwardly and upwardly from the endless chains 21, 21 and are spaced between the gathering arms 29, 29. Each of said snubbing blocks has an upstanding bit 31 mounted in its outer end and has a fin 38 extending laterally and outwardly therefrom. Said snubbing blocks and bits project upwardlyv at a steeper angle than the upwardly projecting bits 33 of the gathering arms 29 and extend to a greater height than said gathering arm bits. rlhe purpose of said fins and bits is to provide clearance for the gathering arms 29, and thus prevent binding of the gathering head in the coal.

The drive to said gathering mechanism is of a usual construction so need not be described in detail excepting to point out that in the form shown the endless chains 21 are each driven from a drive sprocket 39 keyed on an upright shaft 40 passing downwardly through the apron I3. Said shaft is journaled in bearings 4I and 42 disposed above and below said apron and carried by said apron in a suitable manner. A bevel gear 44 is mounted on the lower end of said shaft and meshes with and is driven from a bevel pinion 45 on the outer end of the transverse shaft 22. From the foregoing it may be seen that there is a substantial reduction in speed between the conveyer and gathering arms to permit the conveyer to carry material away from the gathering arms at a greater rate of speed than it is deposited thereon.

It will be observed from the foregoing that with the arrangement of parts herein disclosed, the apron I3 is arranged so it may be disposed closely adjacent the conveyer which reduces the clearance between the gathering arms and conveyer and renders the gathering head more compact and efficient than formerly. and that the gathering arms are cleared from material on the conveyer by moving along and laterally away from the conveyer at a speed which is considerably less than the speed of the conveyer, together with their capability for pivotal movement in a forward direction.

It will also be seen that snubbing cutters having material clearing ns thereon are provided for effecting clearance for the gathering arms where the gathering head is wedged under the coal or where the coal is hanging or tight.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting myself to the specific embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

i. In a loading machine, an elevating conveyer, an apron disposed closely adjacent to said conveyer in a plane parallel thereto and extending along each side of said conveyer forwardly therefrom across the forward end thereof to the ground, chain guides on the upper side of said apron adapted to guide endless chains in orbits substantially parallel to the plane of said apron and extending along opposite sides of said conveyer from a point disposed forwardly of the forward end thereof rearwardly along said conveyer in laterally diverging paths, said chains having laterally extending gathering arms pivotally mounted thereon for limited pivotal movement in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said chain, said gathering arms having rearwardly inclined gathering surfaces and bits extending laterally and upwardly therefrom, and upwardly projecting snubbing blocks on said chains, said blocks having bits projecting from the ends thereof at a greater angle than the upwardly projecting bits in said gathering arms and one of said snubbing blocks being disposed between each pair of said gathering arms for effecting clearance for said chain guides and gathering arms.

2. In a loading machine, an elevating conveyer, an apron disposed closely adjacent to conveyer in a plane parallel thereto and extending along each side of said conveyer forwardly therefrom across the forward end thereof to the ground, chain guides on the upper side of said apron adapted to guide endless chains in orbits substantially parallel to the plane of said apron and extending along opposite sides of said conveyer from a point disposed forwardly of the forward end thereof rearwardly along said conveyer in laterally dii/erging paths, said chains having laterally extending gathering arms pivotally mounted thereon for limited pivotal movement in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said chain, said gathering arms having rearwardly inclined gathering surfaces and bits extending laterally and upwardly therefrom, and snubbing blocks on said chain disposed between said gathering arms for effecting Clearance for said chain guides and gathering arms, each of said blocks having an upwardly projecting bit and a clearing fin projecting laterally therefrom.

3. In a loading machine, an elevating conveyer, an apron disposed forwardly of and extending along each side of said conveyor, endless chains on the upper side of said apron movable in orbits substantially parallel to the plane of said apron, and extending along opposite sides of said conveyer from a point disposed forwardly of the forward end thereof, said endless chains having gathering arms pivotally mounted thereon for limited pivotal movement with respect thereto in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said chains and spaced at intervals therealong, and snubbing blocks mounted on said chains between said gathering arms and having bits projecting angularly upwardly therefrom, each of said snubbing blocks having a n eX- tending outwardly therefrom and said fins and said bits effecting a means for providing clearance for said gathering arms.

WILLIAM W. SLOANE. 

